Indian-spiced Carrot Salad

Ezra is still building up his spice tolerance, so when we make this carrot salad, we set aside his portion before we mix in the chiles.

Indian-spiced Carrot Salad
inspired by The Everything Indian Cookbook

5 carrots, peeled and grated
juice of 1 lemon
a few tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
20 curry leaves (optional)

1 jalapeno, seeds and veins removed, mincedSalt to taste

In a large bowl, mix the carrots and lemon juice.

In a small skillet, heat the oil.  Add the oil, mustard seeds and curry leaves.  When the mustard seeds begin to pop, pour the mixture over the carrots.  Add the minced jalapeno, stir and salt to taste.

South Indian Pancakes

We've been working on our recipe for dosas--savory fermented rice and dal pancakes--for years now. Sometimes the batter came out well, but we had trouble getting it to rise consistently. Our eureka moment about dosas happened in India last winter, watching the cooking instructor pour perfectly bubbly batter onto a hot griddle. It's hot in India! That's why the batter ferments so perfectly and gets so bubbly. So, if we could just get our dosa batter to India temperatures at home, we could make real Indian dosas that stay together and fold nicely. Success!

Making dosa batter takes a few tries to master, so don't bust this one out for that big first date until you've practiced a few times. You can also use dosa batter for uttapam, which thicker and sturdier, like a personal pizza. We've provided recipes for both here. If you want to make some of each, make the uttapam while the batter is still thick, then thin it down for dosas.

1 cup parboiled rice (boil 1 cup rice in a large pot of water for 5 minutes; drain.)
2 cups raw rice
1 cup urad dal
2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon salt

This works equally well with brown rice, white rice, or a combo.

Combine everything, except the salt, in a large bowl with enough lukewarm water to cover and allow to soak overnight. Drain, reserving the liquids. Blend until you have a consistency like thick pancake batter, adding only enough of the soaking water to lubricate your blender. Pour into a bowl that leaves room for the batter to double in size.

Cover with a towel and place somewhere warm. The batter likes to be 85-95 degrees Fahrenheit. In Kerala, that's just room temperature. Here in Berkeley, we use our dehydrator, which has adjustable temperature settings. We've heard of other creative solutions like leaving it in the oven on low, with the door propped open, or near a radiator. Within eight hours, the dough will double and fill with tiny bubbles. You should detect a pleasantly sour, yeasty smell. If your dough doesn't rise after the first eight hours, you don't have to give up! Try adjusting your heat source and give it another eight hours. Once your batter has risen, mix in the salt and proceed with one of the following recipes.

Uttapam

1 batch of batter, risen
coconut oil for frying (Coconut oil is solid in cold weather, but will quickly become liquid if you leave the bottle somewhere warm. Liquid oil is much easier to drizzle!)

Choice of toppings:
chopped red onion
finely minced green chili
chopped cilantro leaves
chopped tomato
chopped nuts
minced fresh herbs
cubed feta (not traditional, but quite delicious!)

Heat a well-seasoned cast iron or crepe pan over medium-high heat, and coat the pan lightly with oil. When the oil is as hot as possible without smoking, pour about a 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan. Quickly toss on some toppings, plus a little drizzle of oil around the edges.

When the pancake looks firm enough to flip (3-5 minutes), gently loosen it with a clean, greased metal spatula. Flip it over and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Carefully scrape away any bits that stuck to the pan and add a little more oil. When the oil is hot, begin your next pancake. Serve warm, with a selection of curries and chutneys.



Dosas

1 batch of batter, risen
coconut oil for frying

Stir a little water into your batter for a crepe-like consistency. Heat a well-seasoned cast iron or crepe pan over medium-high heat, and coat the pan lightly with coconut oil. When the oil is as hot as possible without smoking, pour about a 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan, spreading it around in a spiral pattern with the back of your ladle. It should be thin, with some lacy areas, but no large holes. Pour a fine drizzle of oil around the edges to help them get crispy.

Cook for about 3 minutes, or until the dosa easily lifts from the pan. If your dosa is nice and thin, you won't need to fry on both sides -- just transfer to a plate, fill with a thick curry and serve. If your dosa came out a little too thick, there's no harm in flipping it over to make sure it's cooked on both sides.

Chai-Spiced Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Bring a little bit of India to your Thanksgiving table with these spicy sweet potatoes--we've taken the components of a steaming cup of masala chai and applied them to sweet potatoes for a nice change of pace from that tired old marshmallow-and-canned-pineapple routine. This may seem like a lot of ginger, but we've found that any less doesn't really do much.

Sweet potatoes have such vast size variation that we've listed the amount you'll need in cups of chopped sweet potato rather than in number of potatoes. For us, this was one gigantic sweet potato.

1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
3 cups chopped sweet potatoes, in 1/2-inch cubes

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium-sized bowl, toss ingredients together. Spread in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until sweet potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

Cumin Rice with Cashews and Raisins

More than six months after our return from Kerala, we still can't stop making this aromatic, earthy rice we discovered in cooking school. It's fantastic with curries or thoren! The only modifications we've made are to use shallots instead of onions and to substitute cooked brown rice for more traditional white basmati rice. The cashews and raisins are an easy way to turn an otherwise humble rice dish into something impressive.

One of our biggest take-aways from learning to cook South Indian food is the value of black pepper as a centerpiece spice rather than a finishing touch. Resist the temptation to just grind in a few shakes of black pepper and call it a day--measuring out the full 1/2 teaspoon, you'll see how much more it is, and using that much black pepper really makes a difference for the final product.

3 cups long-grain brown rice or brown basmati rice, cooked
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 and 1/2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
1 teaspoon urad dal (optional)
1 cup very thinly sliced shallots
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
a pinch of turmeric
1 tablespoon butter or coconut oil
1/4 cup cashews
1/4 cup raisins

Heat the olive oil in a large wok over medium-high heat. Add the cumin and urad dal and stir until dal is brown, then add the shallots and saute until starting to brown. Now add the pepper and turmeric, stir to coat the shallots, and fold in the cooked rice. Stir well, ensuring that the shallots and spices get mixed in well. Salt to taste and set aside.

In a small skillet, heat the butter or coconut oil and saute the cashews until just barely starting to color. Add the raisins and continue stirring for about a minute longer, until raisins are puffy. Remove from heat, sprinkle raisins and cashews on the rice and serve.

Okra and Coconut Saute

Remember how we want to gush more about okra? Here you go! This thoren is a great way to use okra. In addition to the usual grated coconut, we tried drizzling a little leftover coconut milk on top -- we're going to start doing that all the time!

You can find grated frozen coconut in Indian grocery stores, or you can grate your own from a fresh coconut. The curry leaves are also available in Indian grocery stores--optional if you don't have access to them, delicious if you do!

1 tablespoon coconut oil (mmm!) or canola oil (mmm, accessible!)
1 1/2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
10 fresh or frozen curry leaves
20 okra pods, halved lengthwise
1/4 cup grated fresh or frozen coconut
Coconut milk for drizzling

Place a wok over medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and pop for 30 seconds. Throw in the curry leaves, stir a few times, and then add the okra. Stir constantly for 7-10 minutes, until the okra starts to brown. Add grated coconut and stir 2 more minutes, then remove from heat and serve, with a drizzle of coconut milk on top.

Sambhar with Okra

Do we spend enough time talking about how much we love okra? Probably not. We'd start another blog called I Heart Okra, but we're assuming there's a limited market for I Heart [Green Thing] blogs. Here's another way to showcase our favorite mucilaginous vegetable. This sambhar--inspired by versions we had in Kerala and adapted from Savoring the Spice Coast of India--is like an Indian answer to gumbo: thick, satisfying, spicy, and okra-licious.

1 and 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup yellow split peas, rinsed

3 tablespoons coconut oil
1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 cup pureed tomato
2 medium-sized Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
1 cup minced onion
1 jalapeno chile, sliced lengthwise (you can scoop the seeds out if you want less spice)
12 branches cilantro: stems and leaves minced separately
4 teaspoons coriander powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida*
Salt
1 teaspoon tamarind paste

1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 dried red chile
1 sprig curry leaves, stemmed (optional, if you can find them)
1/2 lb. okra, ends trimmed, sliced lengthwise

Combine water and dal in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer 30-40 minutes, until dal is soft.

In a large saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the coconut oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the fenugreek seeds and stir for 3o second or so, just until they brown. Add 2 cups water, potatoes, tomato, onion, jalapeno, cilantro stems, spices, salt and tamarind. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons coconut oil in a wok. (Yes, we're making you dirty three separate pans! It's worth it, though). Add the mustard seeds, and when they pop, add the curry leaves and chiles and stir quickly. Throw in the okra and fry until it starts to brown, about 10 minutes or so, stirring constantly.

Now put it all together: pour the peas and okra into the large saucepan with the veggies and taste for salt. Top with the minced cilantro leaves and serve.

*ETA: Apparently asafoetida is not gluten-free, so please leave it out if you're cooking for anyone who is! Don't worry, the sambhar will still be okra-tastic and yummy.

Salty Cumin Lassi

You may notice that this post is tagged "work snacks" and wonder what kind of tricked-out office kitchens we have. But seriously, you can do this--Hannah does happen to have a tricked-out office kitchen, but all you need is a glass, a water cooler, yogurt, salt, and a fork. If you keep a 32-ounce container of plain yogurt in your office fridge, you can enjoy lassis all week, either with your lunch or as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. You can even leave out the cumin and it's still delicious. And while everyone else is microwaving a soggy burrito, you'll be dreaming of India.

These measurements are approximations--just eyeball it if you're at the office with no measuring cup, since what really matters is texture.

1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1/3 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Whisk. Enjoy.

Cauliflower Paneer Masala

Another recipe we learned at cooking school in India. Our instructor battered his cauliflower before frying it, but we're lazy and generally not inclined to batter anything, so we tried throwing the cauliflower right into the hot oil. The result -- still fatty and delicious! Also, we can hardly be blamed for giving in to the temptation to throw a little non-traditional paneer in the oil, since it was already nice and hot. Everything is better with cheese.

1 head of cauliflower, floretted and dried
1 cup of paneer, diced into 3/4 inch cubes
1/3 cup oil (high-heat friendly, like coconut, peanut or canola)
2 large shallots, sliced into half-moons
2 sprigs curry leaves (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 inch ginger, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 1/2 teaspoons coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 cups pureed tomatoes (canned okay)
salt to taste

Optional batter:
8 tablespoons chickpea flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
sprinkle of water
salt
black pepper

Optional: If you want to make a batter, mix the batter ingredients in a large bowl and toss in the cauliflower, stirring to coat.

Heat the oil in a wok until it's hot enough to sizzle on contact with cauliflower, but not smoking. Add the cauliflower in small batches, frying until it's tipped with brown, then remove to a paper-lined plate to drain. Repeat with the paneer, frying until it's golden brown on all six sides.


Pour off the extra oil, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the pan. Set the heat to medium-high and add the curry leaves, allowing them to sizzle for 30 seconds before adding the sliced shallots. Stir continuously until the shallots are soft and brown, then add the garlic and ginger. Once they are browned and the raw smell is gone, add the tumeric, chile powder, coriander and garam masala. Stir until the onions are well coated, then pour in the pureed tomatoes. Simmer until the tomatoes are reduced, then stir in the cauliflower, paneer and salt and allow to simmer a few more minutes to meld the flavors. We served ours on a bed of upma with red cabbage.

South Indian Asparagus

It's springtime again, and that means another season of asparagus dishes! This year, it's found a home in our South Indian repertoire, brought to life by the usual suspects of mustard seeds, shallots, turmeric and chiles. Once again, if you can't find curry leaves or urad dal, just leave them out.

1 tablespoon oil or ghee
1 teaspo0n mustard seeds
2 shallots, sliced into rings
1 tablespoon urad dal
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 dried red chile, broken into three pieces
1 sprig curry leaves
1 bunch asparagus (about 30 stalks), cut into 1.5 inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat the oil in a wok over medium high-heat. When it is hot, add the mustard seeds and the urad dal. Stand back and allow them to fruy until the dal takes on a toasted color, about two minutes. Add the shallots and stir for another minute or two, only until the shallots are no longer raw. Stir in the turmeric, chile and curry leaves. As soon as the curry leaves begin to crackle, toss in the asparagus, salt and a tablespoon of water. Stir continuously, still over medium-high heat, adding a few more sprinkles of water if the asparagus gets dry. Once the asparagus is tender-crisp (5-10 minutes), remove from heat and serve immediately.

Kale Thoren

As promised, here is our first kale-bastardized recipe from Kerala! Thoren is a dry curry with coconut and whatever vegetable strikes your fancy. While we were in India, we ate versions that used beets, okra and ivy gourd, and it turns out that thoren is also delicious made with kale--of course!

We learned to make this in Kerala with fresh grated coconut, and since returning home we've been able to find frozen grated coconut at Vik's. If you can't get fresh coconut and need to substitute dried shredded coconut, we'd recommend using less (maybe 1/4 cup) and adding it last, to prevent burning.

2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon urad dal
2 shallots, thinly sliced
3 sprigs curry leaves
1 dried red chile, broken into thirds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen)
12 leaves dinosaur kale, stemmed and chopped

Heat the oil in a wok. When it's hot, but not smoking, add the mustard seeds and urad dal. When the seeds have popped and the dal is golden-brown, add the shallots and fry, stirring continuously. Once the shallots are soft and translucent, add the curry leaves, dried chile and turmeric. Stir for 30 seconds, then add the coconut and stir for two minutes. Add the kale and keep stirring! Once the kale is nicely wilted, remove from the heat and serve immediately.

Smoky Chana Masala

Okay, we're back to blogging Indian food, but we're taking a northerly detour from curry leaves and coconut to bring you one of our favorite North Indian treats, totally bastardized so it could almost be considered Latin food. We're big fans of anything smoky-tasting, and this dish jazzes up the chana masala you're used to with several smoky accents: chipotle chile, smoked Spanish paprika and fire-roasted tomatoes.

Have some rice or a good Indian bread on hand to soak up the delicious sauce!


1 tablespoon oil or ghee (if you're a carnivore, you could try bacon grease for extra smokiness)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
5 large shallots, sliced (about 2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon smoked spanish paprika (aka Pimentón)
3 cloves garlic, ground
1 1/2 inches ginger, ground
4 cups chickpeas, cooked (canned okay)
1 dried chipotle chile, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes (or you could use the kind that are canned in adobo, or just chipotle chile powder)
3 1/2 cups roasted, pureed tomatoes (fresh or canned)*
3 tablespoons tomato paste
cayenne
salt

*If you're using fresh tomatoes: Chop the tomatoes into large chunks, toss with a little oil and roast in the broiler until burnt spots appear. Stir well and roast until more burnt spots appear, then puree. If you're using canned tomatoes: Try to find Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes to get a nice smoky flavor. Puree.

Melt the ghee in a wok over medium-high heat. Once the ghee is hot, add cumin seeds. Allow the seeds to pop for 30 seconds, then add the shallots. Fry, stirring continuously, until browned. Add the tumeric, coriander and pimenton and stir. Once the onions are well coated with spice, stir in the garlic and ginger and fry until lightly browned. Add the chickpeas, chipotle, tomatoes and tomato paste and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the tomatoes have reduced somewhat. Taste for salt and cayenne before serving.

Egg Masala

On our last night in Kerala, we slept on a houseboat stationed near a rice paddy. When we awoke, our personal chef had prepared a rich egg masala and fluffy upma for breakfast. We floated along the backwaters, stuffing ourselves with spicy eggs, and we were in heaven.

Somehow, our homemade re-creation, while delicious, doesn't conjure the same kind of bliss. Maybe we missed some key ingredient that unlocks the secret of the masala. More likely? Nothing else tastes as good as what you eat while lounging in wicker furniture. Maybe you can convince someone else to make this and bring it out to you on the porch with a nice gin and tonic.

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon urad dal
4 sprigs curry leaves
2 cups of shallots, sliced into rings
1 green chile, sliced in half lengthwise
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes (canned okay)
1/2 cup coconut milk
5 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
cayenne to taste

Heat the coconut oil in a wok over medium-high heat. When the oil is very hot, but not smoking, add the mustard seeds and urad dal. When the mustard seeds have popped, add the curry leaves and fry for about 30 seconds. Add the shallots and keep stirring continuously until they are nicely browned. Add the garlic, chili, coriander, cumin and tumeric and stir to coat. When the garlic and spices have lost their raw smell, add the tomatoes.

Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have broken down considerably, then add the coconut milk, eggs and 3/4 cup water. Continue simmering for another 15 minutes, then taste for spiciness. Add as much cayenne as you can handle, and serve over rice, upma or bread.

Banana Dal

We've been trying to perfect a household dal for a while (sometimes getting stymied by lack of Indian ingredients). And then we went to the motherland of dal, learned this recipe, and hit on perfection. Bananas are a favorite special occasion dinner ingredient around here, particularly because one of us wrote a senior thesis in college about bananas and needs to periodically bombard the other one with random trivia about ripening stages.

We've made a few adaptations at home to personalize this recipe and tweak it for the American stove. Instead of grated fresh coconut, which is used in Kerala, we've substituted coconut milk and grated dessicated coconut. This recipe was presented to us with toor dal, but we used chana dal instead because that's our favorite. We also added some tomato paste and ginger.

1 cup chana dal (or toor dal, or just plain yellow split peas)
6 cups water
2 green bananas, sliced (we're referring here to the most unripe bananas you can find in your produce section, not to unripe plantains)
4 large shallots - two for paste, two sliced into rings
1/4 cup grated coconut
4 cloves garlic
1-inch piece of ginger
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1-2 sprigs curry leaves
1 dried red chile
1 green chile, sliced lengthwise
1 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 cup coconut milk
1-2 tablespoons tomato paste
about 1 teaspoon salt

Bring dal and water to boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, for about 45 minutes or until dal is soft. Add bananas when dal is nearly done and simmer gently for five more minutes.

Meanwhile, grind two of the shallots with the garlic, ginger and cumin in a food processor until you have a coarse paste. Add the grated coconut last, and pulse a few more times.

Heat the coconut oil in a wok on medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and pop. Add curry leaves and dried red chile and stir for a minute. Add the two sliced shallots and chile and fry until browned, stirring continuously. Add the tumeric and stir to coat the shallots. Stir in the garlic/shallot paste and keep it moving until the raw smell is gone and there's a nice golden color.

Add the contents of the wok, the tomato paste and the coconut milk into the pot with the dal and banana. Stir to mix, then simmer for another 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, to meld the flavors and allow the banana to fully cook. Add salt and serve with a delicious flatbread -- the one shown here is uttapam.

Keralan Spinach in Yogurt

Where have we been?

Oh, you know, cooking school in the most gorgeous part of India, Kerala.

It was the best vacation we've ever taken, hands-down. (No offense to Phoebe's mom, who offers up awesome accommodations every time, but you can't get a young coconut with a straw in it on every corner in Western Massachusetts). We came home with a deepened appreciation for South Indian food (very different from what you get in most Indian restaurants in the US) and over 30 recipes, which we plan to convert from the metric system, bastardize with kale, and blog.

For our first Haritha Farms recipe, we offer this interesting take on spinach--rather than eating it raw or flash-sauteing it, you'll cook it down with South Indian seasonings until it starts to caramelize on the pan and then mix it with plain yogurt. It's an excellent accompaniment to rice and curries, and an unexpected way to get your greens in.

Ingredient notes: urad dal is used raw, like a spice, in Keralan cooking. If you can't find it in your local Indian grocery store (AKA you don't have a local Indian grocery store), it's OK to leave it out. The yogurt in India was much waterier than our favorite yogurt, so we diluted it with a little water. If you have homemade yogurt, or your yogurt is on the watery side, skip the extra water.


1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
2 teaspoons urad dal (optional)
2 large shallots, sliced (about 1 cup)
1 green chile, sliced
1-inch piece of ginger, finely minced or ground
1 teaspoon garlic, finely minced or put through a press
6 cups (1/2 pound) chopped fresh spinach
1 and 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1/2 cup water, if needed (see headnote)

Heat a wok over medium-high heat and melt the coconut oil. When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and urad dal and fry (without stirring) until the mustard seeds are almost fully popped and the dal is golden brown. Add shallots and stir until browned, then add chili, ginger and garlic and stir until the garlic is browned and the raw smell is gone.

Add the chopped spinach and cook over high heat, continually stirring, for about 20 minutes. Be persistent! The spinach will reduce more than you could ever imagine and release sugars that will stick to the pan. When you're certain that the spinach can't reduce any more, remove it from the heat. Once it's cooled to room temperature, stir in the yogurt and water and serve.

Beets with Yogurt and Cumin

This sweet pachadi combines the earthy flavors of beets and cumin in a great winter side dish, a nice Indian variation on our other beet salad. We like to serve this alongside mjeddra for complete nourishment. Try cooking the beets a day ahead to cut down on kitchen time.

4 medium beets
1 cup yogurt
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Scrub beets, halve any large ones, and cover with water in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, for 40 minutes to an hour, until tender. Once the beets are cool enough to handle, peel them, and chop them into 1-inch cubes.

Heat the butter in a small pan over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, add the cumin seeds and mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds begin to pop, pour the butter and spices over the beets. Add yogurt and stir. (If you stir very gently, you'll end up with a lovely marbelized sauce. Stir more vigorously for a uniformly pink sauce). Chill before serving.

Paneer with Tomatoes and Ninja Kale

We made this recipe from Mangoes and Curry Leaves several times with moderately tasty results before we read the ingredient list closely. Where we had been throwing in the typical 2 cloves of garlic, it calls for a full 1/2 cup -- and not just one onion, but three! We tried it again with the full dose of garlic and onions and were delighted with the spicy, filling results, not at all like the curried marinara sauce we had ended up with before. We kept tinkering with cooking methods (the original recipe takes all evening to make) and have finally arrived at the best variation yet, one that gives you a full serving of kale, so stealthily slipped in among strong flavors that you'll never know what hit you.

3 cups pureed canned tomatoes (or 2 pounds fresh)
1 pound paneer
canola oil or ghee
1 chopped onion (or go ahead and try three!)
1 full head of garlic, peeled and minced
3 inches of ginger, minced
2 small thai chilis, left whole
6 leaves of dinosaur kale or three leaves of collard greens, sliced into thin ribbons
5 green cardamom pods, smashed
2 cloves
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon of smoked Spanish paprika
Salt and black pepper to taste

Slice the paneer into 1/2 inch rectangles. Arrange the paneer on a well-greased pan, and drizzle some extra oil over the top. Broil for about five minutes, or until the tops of the paneer rectangles look like toasted marshmallows. Flip and repeat on the other side. Set the paneer aside to cool. (I prefer to chop my paneer slices into bite-sized squares once they are cool enough to touch, but you can also leave them whole.)

Heat 1/3 cup of oil or ghee in a large wok over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft. Add the garlic and ginger and continue frying until the onions and garlic are golden and fragrant. Add the tomatoes and one cup of water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low, and add the kale, paneer and spices. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes. You may want to add a little cayenne to boost the spiciness. Serve with cardamom-scented rice or spinach parathas.

Carrot, Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup

We had a spoonful of a friend's sweet potato and coconut soup at Paul and Elizabeth's when we were home for the holidays that we wanted to replicate at home. The richness of the coconut and the warmth of the spices are perfect for a filling winter meal. The key here is to cook the carrots until they're really soft--it's OK for the sweet potatoes to get a little broken-down if that's what needs to happen for the carrots to blend smoothly.

2 teaspoons butter or oil
3 carrots, diced
1 large sweet potato, diced
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 cup coconut milk
Salt to taste

Heat butter or oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add carrots and sweet potatoes and stir, then add spices and saute 2-3 minutes to coat. Add water just to cover, bring a to a boil, then lower heat and simmer 25-35 minutes, until carrots are very tender. Transfer to a blender, add coconut milk and blend until smooth. (Optional: pass through a food mill for a perfectly velvety texture.) Return to saucepan, add salt to taste and simmer 2-3 minutes more.

Beet and Cumin Soup

This was inspired by beet soup we had at Dosa last month that was smooth, earthy and swirled with a little creme fraiche. Our attempted reconstruction came out equally satisfying--make sure to be persistent in pureeing the soup, since the creaminess is a big part of this soup's apppeal.

We made our own stock with the trimmings, and while that may be too fussy for some, we find that making stock out of beet trimmings for a beet soup really brings the sweetness forward. It really doesn't add much time.

1 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 large leek, white part only, diced
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 lbs beets, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Salt to taste
Yogurt for topping

First, start a stock with the leek tops, beet trimmings, thyme stems, garlic skins (also, whatever other veggie bits you have lying around) and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer while you do everything else. Strain.

Melt butter over medium-high heat in a stock pot and add cumin seeds. Stir quickly, then add leeks and garlic and saute for 3 minutes, until leeks start to soften. Add beets, thyme and barely enough stock to cover. Simmer about 30 minutes or so, until beets are tender. Transfer to a blender (in batches if necessary) and puree until very smooth, adding more stock if necessary. Return to pot, salt to taste, and simmer for a few more minutes. Serve with a swirl of yogurt.

Curried Coconut Corn Soup with Yogurt and Lime

Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen is one of our favorite cookbooks. The recipes are organized seasonally, so you end up with soups that naturally pair whatever comes into season at the same time and involve appropriate amounts of cooking for the temperature outside: roasted vegetable soups for fall, quick simmers and cold soups for summer. This is one of our go-to soups from that cookbook, and a great way to use the last of the summer corn.

We've modified the recipe only slightly: Madison adds the garam masala (an Indian spice blend available at Indian groceries and the spice aisle at Whole Foods or easily made at home) with the onion, but we've been noticing lately that garam masala ends up tasting bitter when we add it too soon. So we add it later, with the corn and coconut milk.

Curried Corn and Coconut Soup with Yogurt and Lime
modified from Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen

4 ears corn, yellow or white varieties, shucked
8 cilantro branches plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 cup finely diced red onion, trimmings reserved
1 tablespoon butter or roasted peanut oil
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon hot or mild paprika
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon flour (gluten-free friends, we've tried this with rice flour and it works)
1 can light or regular coconut milk (1 and 1/2 to 2 cups)
Juice of 1 lime, or more to taste
1/2 cup yogurt
Cilantro sprigs for garnish

Heat 6 cups water in a saucepan. Meanwhile, slice the corn off the cobs, taking just the top halves of the kernels, then reverse your knife and run the dull edge down the cobs to press out the liquid. Break the cobs and put them in the heating water with the cilantro branches and any onion trimmings. Simmer for at least 15 minutes--longer if you can--then strain.

Melt the butter in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, cook for 3 to 4 minutes, then add all the spices except the garam masala and cook a few minutes more. Stir in the flour, pour in the coconut milk, and add the corn and the scrapings, the chopped cilantro, 1 and 1/2 cups stock, and 1 teaspoon salt. If the soup is too thick, thin it with more water. Simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes. Squeeze in the lime juice and taste, adjusting the salt if needed. Refrigerate if you want to serve the soup chilled.

Beat the yogurt with a fork until smooth. Serve the soup with a swirl of yogurt and sprigs of cilantro in each bowl.

Mango Pickle

Hannah's gone away for a week in New Orleans... without me. Before settling down in front of the television to mope, I decided to take advantage of her absence to enjoy two of my favorite forbidden foods: mangoes and pickles. She's allergic to mangoes, so I keep them out of the house when she's around. And for reasons I will never understand, the one food she just will not eat is an Indian-style pickle. Why, Hannah? They're so mouth-watering and spicy.

Some pickle recipes take days, weeks or months to fully mature. This one is quick and easy, leaving you more time to contemplate your dreary, solitary existence.

Ingredients
1 mango
1-3 teaspoons cayenne pepper (as much as you can stand)
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon mustard oil (if you can't get any, use canola oil)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
pinch of asafoetida
10 curry leaves (optional)

Peel the mango and cut it into small pieces, discarding the pit. Mix the mango chunks, cayenne pepper, salt and fenugreek powder together in a glass jar. Heat the canola and mustard oil in a small pan. When hot, add the mustard seeds, turmeric, curry leaves and asafoetida. Once the mustard seeds pop, pour the mixture over the mango chunks and stir gently. Allow the pickle to mellow for at least an hour, then consume with rice and curry, at a table set for one. I'm not crying, I swear, this pickle is just really spicy.